Using "a" in distance

Question

Why do you say "esta A quince kilometeros". Cant you just say esta quince kilometeros?

Answer 1

WElcome to the forum

This is like asking: Why can't you say: he came 5 o'clock instead of at 5...

The form is: estar a una distancia

Answer 2

Actually if you think it through in English:

It is fifteen kilometers (away).

We just have gotten lazy and leave "away" unsaid, because we assume from context that it will be obvious that we do not mean "it is fifteen kilometers long" or "it is fifteen kilometers high" or any other possible interpretation of that rather vague sentence.

However the real answer is as Heidita points out, you say it that way in Spanish because that is how it is said in Spanish, just as we say things in English the way we do because that is how they are said in English.

we have become lazy :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 18, 2010

Answer 3

This a common mistake that English speakers make. Why do the Spanish say this when we don´t. As Heidi has pointed out, this would just be incorrect. When you are given a rule, just accept it.

A distancia se ve la sala de espera - In the distance you can see the waiting room.